Imperagen, a Manchester-based biotech using AI and quantum physics to engineer better enzymes faster, has closed a £5m seed funding round.
Enzymes are biological catalysts used to reduce waste, lower energy usage and decrease overall production costs in everything from pharmaceutical manufacturing and personal care to sustainable chemical production.
However, engineering an enzyme for practical application is a challenging and complex process. Traditional approaches rely on manual screening, a slow and expensive process with a low hit rate.
Established in 2021 by researchers from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Imperagen’s proprietary platform combines three stages into a single closed-loop system.
Quantum physics simulates millions of mutation combinations in silico, generating a rich dataset of predicted properties. Those outputs are used to train problem-specific AI models. Automated robotics then test the highest-performing predictions in the physical lab, producing experimental data that feeds directly back into the AI model.
The funding round was led by PXN Ventures with participation from Imperagen’s existing investors, IQ Capital and Northern Gritstone.
The new funds will be used to accelerate the core R&D platform, scale the wet lab operation, and grow the in-house AI team – both human and agentic.
Imperagen will also invest in its go-to-market function to convert commercial interest into revenue across its target sectors of pharmaceuticals, life sciences, personal care, sustainable fine chemicals and industrial biotech.
“What I see right now is that the companies that will make a radical difference in this emerging AI-driven future are all AI-native, lean on real world data, have genuine impact and are fundamentally deep tech,” says Guy Levy-Yurista, CEO at Imperagen.
“Imperagen has each of those characteristics, combining them with outstanding people, phenomenal technology and the undeniable swagger you only get from Manchester.”
